Back-Up Power

Total Energy Solutions

Acterra provides complete turn-key construction and equipment systems for emergency and standby power systems.  Our team can design and build your facility and install state-of-the-art equipment to provide the most cost effective emergency systems.  We provide solutions for all your power needs.  An emergency power system is an independent power generation system that is legally required to feed equipment or systems whose failure may present a life safety hazard to persons or property.  A standby power system refers to an independent power system that allows operation of a facility in the event of normal power failure.  Businesses and institutions can lose power due to: Tornados, Hurricanes, Ice storms, Capacity-related issues or many other such events.  The installation of emergency and standby power systems provide uninterrupted power for essential operations and help businesses comply with life/safety codes.

Outages can be costly

Today nearly all facility electrical loads are deemed essential because all are necessary for the normal continuation of the business.  According to research by contingency planning organizations, the cost of an electrical outage can exceed $1 million per hour for the average large business.  In certain industries such as semiconductor manufacturing, energy production and telecommunications, losses may reach $2-$3 million per hour or higher. Given these high-stake risks, facilities managers worldwide are being forced to evaluate new options for providing a continuous supply of power.  As the risk of financial loss due to an outage escalates, so does the justification for standby power systems that meet more than just minimum safety or electrical code needs.

Diesel Backup Generators

Torque

A diesel engine has more torque which is what supplies the power to run a generator. For really large diesel backup generators, this can be really important, especially for generators required to kick on and run critical systems, such as found in a hospital. If a hospital loses power, the generators need to be powerful enough to support the many different life saving systems that are being run to treat, monitor and save hundreds of lives.

Fuel Efficiency

A diesel engine has better fuel efficiency. This is easy to think of in terms of an automobile where you are talking about miles per gallon. For example, a full size pick up with a gas engine averages 12 or 13 MPG. But a similar diesel truck will easily get 18+ MPG. Now, diesel backup generators are not actually going anywhere, but the truck example illustrates that for an equal amount of fuel, your diesel generator will run for a longer period of time. When power is lost, you often don't know how long you will need to rely upon the generator before power returns. The more fuel efficient your generator's engine is, the better. Diesel backup generators will have an overall longer life than a gas powered generator. This is because a diesel engine is, by design, beefier than a gas engine. A diesel engine is a compression engine, this means that it squeezes the fuel/air mixture until enough heat is built up that it ignites on its own, no spark plugs are used. The explosion caused by compression versus plug is more powerful, so the engine has to be heavier duty to handle that extra explosive force.

Lower maintenance

This is simply due to the fact that it has less moving parts. As previously mentioned, it is a compression engine, so no spark plugs, which means no spark plug wires or distributor, all things that need to be replaced periodically on a gas engine.

Multi-Fuel

Finally, if in a real bind, a diesel engine can burn other fuels without any alteration. Rudolph Diesel, the inventor of the diesel motor ran his first engine on peanut oil. Other vegetable oils will work also, though we wouldn't suggest running your diesel engine on other fuels unless it is a real emergency!  Now, one of the main complaints against diesel engines is the noise. And though diesel backup generators may also be louder, many of them are larger industrial sized units. Most such businesses keep these types of units a basement or other out of the way place, where most people will not hear them, so this concern does not apply in most instances. Of course we can also add noise reducing enclosures to abate the noise concerns.  For larger generator needs, diesel backup generators should be given serious consideration. The engines are more powerful, more fuel efficient, require less maintenance and last longer than equivalent gas powered motors.

Contacts:

Tad Cooper 800.289.7371 x141

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